Area law enforcement agencies arrested two teenagers this weekend in connection with the May 3 theft of a laptop and external hard drive from the home of a now-former Veteran Affairs employee. The affair sparked a nearly two-month hullabaloo for more than 26 million veterans and military members who faced possible identity theft. An informant turned in the computer equipment June 28, and the FBI subsequently decided that no one had compromised the data. Law enforcement officials do not believe the two teens—Jesus Alex Pineda (19) and Christian Brian Montano (19), both of Rockville, Md.—knew what they had in hand, until the situation became front-page news. Officials are looking at a third suspect, a juvenile. Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said in a statement, “While these arrests are good news, we were lucky that the data belonging to the veterans was not accessed and misused.” Too right.
Unit commanders are being told to separate service members who can’t shave their cheeks and chin for medical reasons for more than a year, according to new guidance from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
